Also apropos of nothing I introduced an intimidating twitchy near-crazed relic-keeping priest who has had possibly direct contact with the Emperor (or one of his fragments) named Leonis the Confessor on the impetus of nothing when one of my players wanted to purify a weapon and I feel like they liked it a lot more than just giving them them weapon. He inspected the psyker as much as the weapon he cleansed.

They’re also using contacts and assets they’ve built over the course of five years and it’s making me really happy like all that time was worth it to build up to this finale.

Edit: The players made the decision. The Rook is to be mindwiped, brainwashed and turned into an agent of the inquisition. He begged to be made to forget everything that happened after seeing his love resurrected to become a thrall of Nurgle eventually and knowing she was to die again at his hands directly or indirectly.

So an acquaintance just recently stepped into gaming and has been hitting me up off and on for advice. They're just looking to run 5e; they've got a pretty good plan to run something basic out of the premades (probably Phandelver) to get some basic experience under their belt. I've given them the things that stick out to me but I'm curious if there's obvious advice for a new GM that I'm just completely blanking out on.

I talked to them about adjusting encounter difficulty (particularly on the fly), the difference between "railroading" and "providing scenic byways that get you where the story is going" (which, for the record, is nothing other than letting players have some agency about how directly they bite onto the hooks), session 0 and why you use it and what you're trying to achieve, how to roll a session of role-playing into plot advancement, and other similar "tricks" for game management.

Thus far they've had some fun running some of the kid-focused stuff for their kids, but they've got a real desire to run a large campaign. Before anyone asks: no, I won't be playing in said campaign.

A big one for me is let the players know the rule of law immediately. Dumbass aggressive and uncool reasons for PvP will be denied. The only rules lawyer is the GM unless the GM needs help or another player needs to be explained something. Do not get into stupid arguments between each other that crush the game’s flow and make people uncomfortable. Do not be a dick. Do not play a dick. If you are a dick in a way that’s making others uncomfortable or upset and you try to say “That’s just my character” you get booted.

It has worked extremely well for me in establishing a tone and acceptability of group dyamics, even with brand new players

I was playing with someone who is prone to seizures and was off their medicine for unfortunate reasons and got stressed out because of a dumbass argument and told me that me being calm helped her through it. Stress makes her more prone. I want to smack that guy now because I didn’t know that.

Also min-maxer bullies are a big thorn in my brain that I have encountered so I decided to cut off that root when I began GMing. (Bullies, not min-maxers in general; I actually like specialization)

Rather than going over my standard roleplaying principles I’ll cater this reply just for D&D

Just. Just let the trick out that caravan they buy. By god, if you give D&D players a mule and a caravan they’ll end up sinking 50000 gold into them. D&D players love having a mule and a caravan. They will enchant and diamond encrust the wheels. They will hire a professional driver. They will reinforce it with steel. They will put a cannon on it.

Rather than going over my standard roleplaying principles I’ll cater this reply just for D&D

Just. Just let the trick out that caravan they buy. By god, if you give D&D players a mule and a caravan they’ll end up sinking 50000 gold into them. D&D players love having a mule and a caravan. They will enchant and diamond encrust the wheels. They will hire a professional driver. They will reinforce it with steel. They will put a cannon on it.

This is my experience.

... unless it's a badguy's wagon, in which case they will burn it down and laugh at the ashes.

something that i don't see often that i think is really helpful for new GMs/groups, especially with a big game like D&D that covers a LOT of cultural shorthand is, and this can be done in session 0, a conversation about what it actually means to play fantasy

we live in a time where "fantasy" encompasses a SHIT TON of potential types and feels, and it's worth sitting down and talking about what fantasy actually means to everyone at the table. as the GM, it's our job to listen to these conversations and understand our players so we can provide them with the experience they want while also avoiding really pernicious shit, which dovetails into the next thing

if you have a diverse group (and i hope you do, and even if you don't), try to lean into / emphasize that diversity and make the world reflect the diversity we have in the real world.

So an acquaintance just recently stepped into gaming and has been hitting me up off and on for advice. They're just looking to run 5e; they've got a pretty good plan to run something basic out of the premades (probably Phandelver) to get some basic experience under their belt. I've given them the things that stick out to me but I'm curious if there's obvious advice for a new GM that I'm just completely blanking out on.

I talked to them about adjusting encounter difficulty (particularly on the fly), the difference between "railroading" and "providing scenic byways that get you where the story is going" (which, for the record, is nothing other than letting players have some agency about how directly they bite onto the hooks), session 0 and why you use it and what you're trying to achieve, how to roll a session of role-playing into plot advancement, and other similar "tricks" for game management.

Thus far they've had some fun running some of the kid-focused stuff for their kids, but they've got a real desire to run a large campaign. Before anyone asks: no, I won't be playing in said campaign.

Every time you put a problem in front of your players assume they're going to ignore every option you planned for and do something you never expected, so be prepared to improvise a challenge (combat/social/environmental) you can throw in front of them. Whether this means having a small set of pre-written ideas you can mold to fit, random tables, or just being comfortable making it up on the spot.

Offload creative effort on to your players. Can't figure out something interesting or weird about the town they just wandered into? Ask a player what they notice that stands out. Odds are they'll give you something you can work into your plot, or add a twist.

Tying the above two together: your PCs have a history in the world. They grew up there and had lives/jobs/friends before adventuring. Use that to ground them, offload creative effort, and make their create improvised conflicts. Maybe the innkeeper you suddenly need to make up is an old army buddy of one of the PCs, and you can ask that player about a distinctive feature. Or the group decides to go to the thieve's guild for help and the scoundrel that meets with them used to run in a gang with one of the PCs -- until they had a violent falling-out.

Also after several years I have learned you can’t force people to roleplay. This isn’t meant to disagree with admanb but more supporting his post. If you want interaction then make it direct with things in front of them and not with a backstory they will not think about.

I think about the backstories of my characters a lot but I don’t make them the central focus but rather a motivation and springboard to continue on without the adventure having to be bogged in my dirty laundry. They will probably want to interact with what is in front of them so put what you want them to engage with there rather than the side or in the past. They also might not engage anyway. This is fine. You roll with it.

The nerdy professor type of our adhoc group turns to my clearly thuggish New Yorker-accented character during a party at a mansion outside of New Orleans and says matter-of-factly,
"I assume you have a weapon on you."
I fold my arms and say in my voice that is somewhere between Mickey Rourke and Danny Devito,
"that is very presumptuous of you.

A big one for me is let the players know the rule of law immediately. Dumbass aggressive and uncool reasons for PvP will be denied. The only rules lawyer is the GM unless the GM needs help or another player needs to be explained something. Do not get into stupid arguments between each other that crush the game’s flow and make people uncomfortable. Do not be a dick. Do not play a dick. If you are a dick in a way that’s making others uncomfortable or upset and you try to say “That’s just my character” you get booted.

It has worked extremely well for me in establishing a tone and acceptability of group dyamics, even with brand new players

I was playing with someone who is prone to seizures and was off their medicine for unfortunate reasons and got stressed out because of a dumbass argument and told me that me being calm helped her through it. Stress makes her more prone. I want to smack that guy now because I didn’t know that.

Also min-maxer bullies are a big thorn in my brain that I have encountered so I decided to cut off that root when I began GMing. (Bullies, not min-maxers in general; I actually like specialization)

I'm not really concerned about poor table behavior in this particular case. They're absolutely not trying to run a game in a gaming store or at a con or anything. Just play with friends.

Rather than going over my standard roleplaying principles I’ll cater this reply just for D&D

Just. Just let the trick out that caravan they buy. By god, if you give D&D players a mule and a caravan they’ll end up sinking 50000 gold into them. D&D players love having a mule and a caravan. They will enchant and diamond encrust the wheels. They will hire a professional driver. They will reinforce it with steel. They will put a cannon on it.

something that i don't see often that i think is really helpful for new GMs/groups, especially with a big game like D&D that covers a LOT of cultural shorthand is, and this can be done in session 0, a conversation about what it actually means to play fantasy

we live in a time where "fantasy" encompasses a SHIT TON of potential types and feels, and it's worth sitting down and talking about what fantasy actually means to everyone at the table. as the GM, it's our job to listen to these conversations and understand our players so we can provide them with the experience they want while also avoiding really pernicious shit, which dovetails into the next thing

if you have a diverse group (and i hope you do, and even if you don't), try to lean into / emphasize that diversity and make the world reflect the diversity we have in the real world.

I definitely spent a lot of time talking about what you want to talk about in Session 0 and why you shouldn't worry about Session 0 getting extended into Session 0.5. They've played with me and seen me run a Session 0 with a bunch of people who have minimal to no experience, walking through everything from "what's a role-playing game?" through "this is what I mean when I say 'core mechanic' and how we use the dice" and with "I'm planning to run these kinds of encounters, puzzles, and challenges..." on down to "this is your 'world lore' packet, summarizing things your character almost certainly knows."

I find a good Session 0 goes a long, long way especially with people who aren't as experienced.

So an acquaintance just recently stepped into gaming and has been hitting me up off and on for advice. They're just looking to run 5e; they've got a pretty good plan to run something basic out of the premades (probably Phandelver) to get some basic experience under their belt. I've given them the things that stick out to me but I'm curious if there's obvious advice for a new GM that I'm just completely blanking out on.

I talked to them about adjusting encounter difficulty (particularly on the fly), the difference between "railroading" and "providing scenic byways that get you where the story is going" (which, for the record, is nothing other than letting players have some agency about how directly they bite onto the hooks), session 0 and why you use it and what you're trying to achieve, how to roll a session of role-playing into plot advancement, and other similar "tricks" for game management.

Thus far they've had some fun running some of the kid-focused stuff for their kids, but they've got a real desire to run a large campaign. Before anyone asks: no, I won't be playing in said campaign.

Every time you put a problem in front of your players assume they're going to ignore every option you planned for and do something you never expected, so be prepared to improvise a challenge (combat/social/environmental) you can throw in front of them. Whether this means having a small set of pre-written ideas you can mold to fit, random tables, or just being comfortable making it up on the spot.

Offload creative effort on to your players. Can't figure out something interesting or weird about the town they just wandered into? Ask a player what they notice that stands out. Odds are they'll give you something you can work into your plot, or add a twist.

Tying the above two together: your PCs have a history in the world. They grew up there and had lives/jobs/friends before adventuring. Use that to ground them, offload creative effort, and make their create improvised conflicts. Maybe the innkeeper you suddenly need to make up is an old army buddy of one of the PCs, and you can ask that player about a distinctive feature. Or the group decides to go to the thieve's guild for help and the scoundrel that meets with them used to run in a gang with one of the PCs -- until they had a violent falling-out.

We had this talk today, actually. They were getting all excited and talking about how they wanted to flesh out the adventure arcs and I had to yank the reins a bit and explain why trying to plan too much is dangerous and "encounter modularity." Which is to say, don't think of combat encounters as "this is a group of dwarves they'll fight" but instead "this is a block of challenge ratings appropriate to the party's strength." But great point about "offload work," although I think that's the sort of trick a veteran GM picks up more than something you can easily teach. Plus it relies a bit on the group's comfort levels with things like that. But yes, definitely, "you're providing the outline, they're providing the story" was covered.

Oh, also, take regular breaks! Every 30-60 minutes is a good guideline. Sometimes disruptive players are disruptive but sometimes they just need five minutes to focus on something else.

Really, one of the best reasons to play with a smoker (provided you have a porch or deck available with adequate ventilation). You know they're going to be jonesing for a cigarette every 45-60 minutes, insuring that everybody else can get a good five minute stretch without feeling guilty about interrupting the game so they can do so.

Oh, also, take regular breaks! Every 30-60 minutes is a good guideline. Sometimes disruptive players are disruptive but sometimes they just need five minutes to focus on something else.

Really, one of the best reasons to play with a smoker (provided you have a porch or deck available with adequate ventilation). You know they're going to be jonesing for a cigarette every 45-60 minutes, insuring that everybody else can get a good five minute stretch without feeling guilty about interrupting the game so they can do so.

Oh, also, take regular breaks! Every 30-60 minutes is a good guideline. Sometimes disruptive players are disruptive but sometimes they just need five minutes to focus on something else.

Really, one of the best reasons to play with a smoker (provided you have a porch or deck available with adequate ventilation). You know they're going to be jonesing for a cigarette every 45-60 minutes, insuring that everybody else can get a good five minute stretch without feeling guilty about interrupting the game so they can do so.

A big one for me is let the players know the rule of law immediately. Dumbass aggressive and uncool reasons for PvP will be denied. The only rules lawyer is the GM unless the GM needs help or another player needs to be explained something. Do not get into stupid arguments between each other that crush the game’s flow and make people uncomfortable. Do not be a dick. Do not play a dick. If you are a dick in a way that’s making others uncomfortable or upset and you try to say “That’s just my character” you get booted.

It has worked extremely well for me in establishing a tone and acceptability of group dyamics, even with brand new players

I was playing with someone who is prone to seizures and was off their medicine for unfortunate reasons and got stressed out because of a dumbass argument and told me that me being calm helped her through it. Stress makes her more prone. I want to smack that guy now because I didn’t know that.

Also min-maxer bullies are a big thorn in my brain that I have encountered so I decided to cut off that root when I began GMing. (Bullies, not min-maxers in general; I actually like specialization)

I'm not really concerned about poor table behavior in this particular case. They're absolutely not trying to run a game in a gaming store or at a con or anything. Just play with friends.

I think this is still worth touching on, even if they're playing with friends. In a familiar and friendly circle you can probably go light on the "don't abuse the other players", "don't say hateful things", etc., but in my experience sitting down and entering the Magic Circle (whether it's roleplaying, board gaming, whatever) can sometimes change people's personalities a little bit. Maybe they're competitive and that starts to come out when everyone's playing a game, or maybe they're a goofball and they become really wacky when they're given an RPG's freedom of real-life repercussions. It's rarely conscious or malicious, just a context shift that causes a slight personality shift. If everyone at the table is pals, and loves and respects everyone else, it probably won't take more than "Hey, please don't slap the guard with a fish when I'm trying to sweet-talk our way past them, I find it disruptive to our game" to get people more aligned with each other, but even people who love and respect each other can unintentionally hurt/annoy each other, and be unintentionally hurt/annoyed.

Maybe just a reminder of "We're all in this together, this is still a team activity, we're not having fun unless we're all having fun, we have to meet each other half-way".

That means dying in that system and having to permanently lose a fate point to keep going on.

I will make certain these things
1) Sir Lansrick Chaucer does not do infiltrations anymore.
2) Sir Lansrick Chaucer does not flail madly anymore in all-out attacks which don't let you parry.
3) Sir Lansrick Chaucer wears a helmet from now on because I have been shot in the naked face three times!

Incognito's for suckers. Had my helmet off for each time because of it. Go guns blazing and you'll never be surprised without a helmet.

I might be Jigsaw now because the person who took me down was very vindictive and mutilated my face. I killed her "children".

I wound up joining this shared universe Star Trek Adventures group (each gaming group/ship exists in the same universe as the others). Played two sessions thus far and I'm really having a blast with it.

Also on Steam and PSN: twobadcats

+2

KadokenGiving Ends to my Friends and it Feels StupendousRegistered Userregular

My friend who GMs/DMs Dark Heresy2E/DnD5E says our DnD games will probably end in about 4 weeks. I’ve been having a lot of fun in his 5E stuff vs the last two GMs’ campaigns which kind of just gradually got less interesting to where I was there to hangout more than to play. DnD, as a system and a series of worlds, always has to fight uphill to keep me interested so he’s been doing great. Since at least Winter, he’s been wanting to do a Beastmen auxillia campaign of Only War. He has described it as “Glory” meets “Enemy at the Gates”. Once we’re done with DnD he wants to launch into that. It’s the most excited I’ve been for a campaign. I’m going to play a hyena person again and experience the big-huge racism and die trench fighting as the first company in.

I'd love to play in one of those games again, but I don't really miss running it...

Mos def for me player experience>gm experience as someone who was a designated GM for four years, but GMing in 40k lets me do a lot of stuff story wise I couldn’t get elsewhere. 40k is versatile in terms of what you can put in it without being out of place just like a comic book universe. As someone who homebrewed all his adventures except one it helps get the creative juices flowing I could not use during the busy year. Plus, I like the system a lot even if it took me like five years and an “overhaul” which is still close to vanilla to appreciate it. I’d rather run my 2.1 Malice overhaul but it’s still 2E with cracks I have found filled or expansions on things that existed.

You will not be disappointed with a critical in FFG RPGs as you will that weak-ass two die bullshit in 5E. “Oh I get to do 2d8 now” vs “fuck that your arm is blown off and the bone has become like so much shrapnel and it’s exploding over your friends”

Oh no, don't get me wrong. My very first GMing experience was running a Dark Heresy campaign, and that lasted for almost two years before getting to the end. I learned a lot from the experience.

But it's much crunchier than I really feel like as far as having to prep for nowadays. Have me show up as a player, and I will devour that shit.

I will say inputting pages upon pages of npc pages into roll20 can get tedious but I mainly have a foundation for a campaign document and then I play upon that foundation and improvise. I’ve got a beginning, key points, and an end. Key points can be skipped, but the players gotta get from beginning to end. My encounters and challenges are based on narrative first. I also read the book straight through five times to finally get a general understanding along with figuring out where things were when they needed to be referenced.

DriveThruRPG is having a discount on Masks: A New Generation, which is a PBTA superhero game. It looks interesting. Have any of you folks tried it? Is it worth a buy?

It's a really well-designed game. However, like all well-designed PBTA games it's built to run a specific type of superhero game (trying to navigate real life as a normal kid while also being a super hero) and won't do well if you decide to instead use it for, say, the Avengers.

I think that's one of the things that appeals to me about PBTA. I've seen plenty of generalist systems that try to accommodate broad genres, types of play, types of players, and so on; it's really cool to discover this branch of bespoke RPGs that are after a very specific kind of experience, and optimized for it.

And, anyway, I don't even have time to play RPGs! I just like reading the books to see different approaches, and fantasizing about what my life would be like if I had time for RPGs.